1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to gaskets and gasket sealing mechanisms, and in particular, to an improved T-joint gasket assembly which does not require or use RTV sealant (i.e., Room Temperature Vulcanizing sealant or agent).
2. Description of Related Art
Gaskets are used to provide a leak proof seal between two engine parts or other devices. Typically, the parts being sealed include flat sealing surfaces which are adjacent to one another during use. The gasket is typically placed between the opposite surfaces of the two components and compressed between them to prevent the escape of a gas, fluid or other medium. Many different variations and structures have been used in the prior art for gaskets and their sealing arrangements.
A particular problem has arisen in prior art seals which are used at a T-joint. A T-joint occurs at the intersection of three sealing surfaces. Such a T-joint may be found between a front cover, an oil pan and an engine block in an automotive engine. Many of the prior art attempts at providing a seal for such a T-joint have either used a sealant, or caulking medium such as a RTV sealant, or have used key and hole arrangements having flat surfaces in an attempt to provide a leak proof seal environment.
The prior art attempts at sealing a T-joint have not been successful in terms of costs and problems with application. First, the sealing or caulking medium that is used such as RTV sealant is very costly, messy and difficult to service. RTV sealant has also been known to effect the seal environment by over filling the adjacent trench in which the gasket sits, thus providing a gap where fluid and/or gas may leak around the seal. Another problem is that the RTV sealant used in such seals hardens over time, and cracks, thus creating a leak around the sealing element.
The other type of seal arrangement is the key and hole which has flat surfaces that are prone to failure because of the relatively small amount of shift allowed in the mating components. This results in less than desirable interlocking and insufficient sealing between the T-joint elements.
Therefore, there has been a long need in the art for a T-joint seal that is easy to install, relatively inexpensive, and adapted to last much longer than the RTV sealant based seals.